Problem Solving and Decision-Making in the Government Utility Company - Assignment Example

ILM-Level 2 Problem solving and making decisions Place Background The Government Utility Company provides communities with reliable electric services and also conducts a consultancy practices aiming to facilitate the other utilities companies in their striving to serve people. The Company has several managers who provide electricity to the consumers and are dealing with consultants and contractors whose enterprises work by their clients, when necessary approvals from the utility should be taken in order to connect the electricity to their projects. Among the clients there are electric distribution companies and electric regulatory commissions. As during the last decades the energy and utilities industries have been influenced by the great changes in terms of pricing, regulatory and legislative mandates, the Government Utility Company provides necessary information to the companies, while it is directly accountable to the people and serves the interests of all members and consumers. Analysis of the problem Navigating modern challenges of securing energy supply at reasonable costs and optimizing operational efficiency and customer service, the Government Utility Company aims to turn such challenges into opportunities. When dealing with the consultants and contractors, the critical set of requirement is the approval which will be necessary for obtaining the required utility interconnection and for success completion of the certain project. To get such approval, the company should comply with the local rules and codes such as electrical safety and follow legal and procedural requirements. Besides, customer-centric approach is not the last thing of importance and while serving for consumers, it should be also paid much attention (Procurement guide: CHP siting and permitting requirements, 2015). In these terms, the Government Utility Company considers that the main problem for the consultants is the poor ability in provision of approvals to the customers that can cause problems further. Thus its offers the improvement opportunity in the existing services, especially taking into account that there is a room for improvement in terms of the approval to be needed on the regular basis and technical requirements for interconnection of electricity to the projects should be abided by contractors and consultants. Besides, regulatory intervention standardization and equipment certification increase risks of company’s failure to meet the customers’ needs by technical and contractual requirements for connection approval. Specializing in conducting consultancy practices in electric services, the Government Utility Company tries to provide its consultants and contractors with necessary information in terms of providing utilities to the customers in the most effective way. In case of failing to meet the community expectations, consultants and contractors will potentially bring a negative impact to the power system in the ways of violations of thermal overload, voltage limits, inappropriate grounding requirements and electric system protection. Investigation and identification of possible solutions Feifer (2013) consider that the first step in problem solving process is the investigation and making the diagnosis in order to check the problem description. As a main attribute of this step it is the talking session during which it is possible to talk to the other side affected by the problem and recognize the symptoms. To solve the problem, it is necessary to organize a problem solving team with the problem coordinator who will be capable to facilitate the investigation process. After thorough investigation, creation of timeline and establishing the cause and effect diagram for the problem explanation, it is relatively easy to define possible solutions. As the preventive or improvement measure, simple cause or effect diagram will help to understand the problem and how to solve it. Kepner-Tregoe Decision Analysis can be useful in identifying the problem as it is a structured methodology for gathering information and prioritizing and evaluating it. It is also good at making the right definition of the problem which later affects the quality of the decision (Kepner & Tregoe, 1981). Possible solutions were identified: 1.Discussion session with the meeting appointed once a month 2.Responsible person to track and inform about the problem solving process 3. Developing Kepner-Tregoe Decision Analysis 4. Developing of cause and effect diagram 5. Developing of model of “Must haves” and “Would likes” In terms of Government Utility Company that deals with consultants, one of the solutions to the improvement will be conducting of talking session where considerations and concerns will be highlighted and solutions will be offered. In addition, the Company should plan a responsible person that will track and facilitate the investigation process. A cause and effect diagram similar to Fishbone analysis diagram will enable to search for the solutions of the problem. Responsible person appointed by Government Utility Company will be also accompanied by the person from the side of consultants. Once a month a meeting will be conducted and the responsible person will inform the companies about the resolution. To aid the decision making process, there can be used a model of “Must haves” and “Would likes”, which will illustrate the improved notice period and checking if the consultants were fully engaged into the solution of the problem. Evaluation of possible solutions There are many techniques that help organizations to make better and more informed decisions. Thus, Pareto analysis is applied as a quality tool to identify and list the problems, the root cause of each of them, score the problems, group them by the root cause, add up the scores and take an action (Pareto analysis, 2015). After identifying the problems, it clarifies the most important to deal with. Applied toward the Government Utility Company and dealing with consultants and contractors, Pareto will look as follows: No. Problem Cause Score 1 Inability to provide approvals to the customers Poor organization 1 2 Regulatory intervention standardization and equipment certification increase risks of company’s failure Lack of internal policies and old equipment 2 Whether there are many alternatives to choose, the company can choose the Decision Matrix Analysis as a tool for making decision. Rebernik and Bradac (n.d.) state that it is used when many factors and alternatives exist and need to be considered. Factors Cost Quality Reliability Location Total Consultant 1 1 0 1 0 Consultant 2 0 2 2 1 Another method for examination of proper decision is the Decision tree, which helps to explore the decision alternatives (Decision trees, 2015). They help to choose between several directions and to form a balanced picture of the risks associated with the action. There is also the fastest way to problem solving, which is the technique of 5Whys. It helps to determine the cause-effect relationship in the issue and try to solve a stated problem without a large detailed investigation (Understanding How to Use The 5-Whys for Root Cause Analysis, 2015). Applied to the consultants, the Government Utility Company can simply question every decision that the consultants made, figuring out the real root of the problem. Implementation plan to solve the problem Effective problem solving should also be communicated as it increase the probability of customers use of the product or service. The action plan contains necessary steps for the implementation communication, providing tools for tracking progress and a document that would indicate the responsible for implementation person. Service to be implemented: Action step: Action Responsible person: Complete by: Status/ Date 1.Develop communication plan Develop education material, arrange meeting, make room bookings First, Last Name June, 2015 In progress/ May, 2015 2. Implementation plan and tools approved by relevant management Team member to discuss plan and resources First, Last Name July, 2015 In progress/ May, 2015 3. Set measures to monitor progress Collect data before launching date First, Last Name September, 2015 In progress/ May, 2015 After the phase of implementation, the main objective of the communicated solving of the problem depends on the effective monitoring of the performance. The effective way to track the progress of the decision is the establishment of routines within the organization. In addition, Mobley (2015) recommends principles such as Total Productive Maintenance, value stream mapping and 5-S to track the decision implementation. References Decision trees, 2015. Mindtools, [online] Available at: http://www.mindtools.com/dectree.html [Accessed on May 20, 2015]. Feifer, T. 2013. Problem investigation and diagnosis, CFN people, [pdf] Available at: http://cfnpeople.com/downloads/Problem_Investigation_and_Diagnosis.pdf [Accessed on May 20, 2015]. Kepner, C. and Tregoe, B. 1981. Rational manager, Kepner-Tregoe, Inc. Mobley, K. 2015. Probme-solving techniques for a high-performance team, Reliable plant, [online] Available at: http://www.reliableplant.com/Read/14690/high-performance-team[Accessed on May 20, 2015]. Pareto analysis, 2015. Mindtools, [online] Available at: http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTED_01.htm [Accessed on May 20, 2015]. Procurement guide: CHP siting and permitting requirements, 2015. United States Environmental Protection Agency, [pdf] Available at: http://www.epa.gov/chp/documents/pguide_permit_reqs.pdf [Accessed on May 20, 2015]. Rebernik, M. and Bradac, B. n.d. Idea evaluation methods and techniques, Institute for entrepreneurship and small business management, [online] Available at: http://www.creative-trainer.eu/fileadmin/template/download/module_idea_evaluation_final.pdf[Accessed on May 20, 2015]. Understanding How to Use The 5-Whys for Root Cause Analysis, 2015. Lifetime reliability solutions, [pdf] Available at: http://www.lifetime-reliability.com/tutorials/lean-management-methods/How_to_Use_the_5-Whys_for_Root_Cause_Analysis.pdf [Accessed on May 20, 2015]. Read More